Hawks get Ready to Take Flight
Dallas Dunn
Wednesday March 8, 2006
Coach Foggie started the 17 hopefuls off with stretching and then the time tested 40-yard dash; from there they moved into 20-yard shuttle drills and then the players were broken down into two groups the QB, WR and DB in one group and the Linemen and FB in the other group. Once broken into groups they ran individual drills. To include the WR’s going against the DB’s. This was a very spirited workout with the players cheering each other on during the drills.
There were players from all over the local area and even some that had traveled all the way from California. Local product Martea Johnson graduated from Wilson High School and then was an all Western State Conference DB for College of the Canyons in the 2002-2003 season. He said "I have been just coaching my little brother and other kids in the area but I am hoping this will be my chance to shine." Mark Williams a QB from Kansas University who also played with the BC Lions of the CFL came all the way from California for the workout. He said "This is my second Arena Football tryout, I also tried out for the San Jose SaberCats earlier this year but I didn’t catch on so I am hoping this will be my chance." Another couple of local products Jason Davis and Brian Winters both from Washington State University also tried out for the team, hoping that they could also keep their football dreams alive.
Having been around the league for ten years now at lots of different cities (thanks to the Army) I have to say that this looked like one of the most talented groups I have ever seen at a tryout. Martea Johnson looks like a shut down DB and Mark Williams has the size and experience of a great QB. I asked Coach Foggie what he thought and he responded that he saw "lots of potential here today but I will have to get back with my coaches and Mr. Adams and we will see, but I think 5 or 6 guys showcased their talent here today."
I spoke with the Hawks Managing Operator Sam Adams and he said "he liked what he saw out here today, I think there was some talent out here." Mr. Adams knows a few things about talent having played in the NFL for the last 12 seasons. He has played for the Seahawks, Ravens, Raiders and last year he played for the Bills. He won a Super Bowl Ring with the Baltimore Ravens.
The Hawks will report for Camp on Sunday, with a meet and greet conference followed by physicals and other administrative tasks on Monday and then on Tuesday "we will bump heads" as Coach Foggie put it. They will have 8-10 guys back from last year, 8 guys that Coach Foggie brought with him from Amarillo and they also picked up a couple of guys from AFL camps and free agents. Coach Ashley said he is ready to get started, ‘We are not an expansion team, we are looking to give lumps not take them."
One of the big differences the fans will have to adjust would be the rule changes from the league they were in last year. This year they will only be able to have one player moving forward instead of three and most of the players will play both ways. Also the arenafootball2 has had a few rule changes this year. There will be three offensive and three defensive specialists instead of two on each side of the ball like there was in prior years. Coach Foggie said "this will allow us to have our QB, OS and most likely our Center only on offensive so that we can use our best blocker there and then on defense we will have 2 guys in the secondary and a rush specialist on the line."
Looking over the Hawks schedule you will find one of the oddities of the af2 is of their 16 regular season games they are playing 12 in their division. That means they will play the same teams 3 times each. Coach Foggie said that "we will get to know each other really well over the course of the season." The fans will really have a chance to get to know their division rivals. General Manager Brad Harris said that average attendance for the Hawks last season was "somewhere in the 4,200 range and that we have sold over 1,400 season tickets to date but we hope to get that number pushed up over 2,000. We have a very solid fan base that is used to winning and we will keep that up this season."
Looking over this organization I have to say that the Hawks have assembled a very professional organization. With the coaches and players that they have assembled, I feel that this team is going to compete for the ArenaCup from Day 1.
I asked Coach Foggie if he had any last words and he replied that "we are not an expansion team we are going to win the ArenaCup this year."
I am looking forward to the season which is only a few weeks away. The Hawks will be holding an Exhibition game against the Samurai Warriors of Japan on Sunday March 19th. If you are in the area come down and watch this great brand of football.
Dallas Dunn has been an Arena Football League enthusiast since he
first attended a Tampa Bay Storm game in 1991. He graduated from Nova
Southeasten University with a Bachelor's Degree in Management. He has
spent the last 18 years in the Army and is currently stationed at Fort
Lewis, Washington with his wife Stephanie. He covered the Columbus
Wardogs during their inaugural season of 2001 for Arenafan and is now
covering the Everett Hawks.